Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, right, and Iran’s Omid Ebrahimi challenge for the ball during the group B match between Iran and Portugal at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk, Russia, Monday, June 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Soccer’s World Cup tournament, the most-popular sporting event on the planet, seems like an awfully good lesson for folks debating America’s immigration policies.

Yes, I know sports analogies often don’t work when applied to deeper issues. But this truly nationalist competition looks much like the ongoing global competition for the best workforce possible.

To those who don’t follow a game that much of the world calls “football,” this quadrennial tournament works like this: Most countries have a national soccer team comprised of their best players. Yes, there can be various fudge factors in the definition by nation about who may qualify as a citizen for soccer purposes. But this isn’t like professional sports leagues that see franchises fill rosters by “importing” foreign-born athletes to mix with native-born players.

These national soccer teams play in a lengthy pre-tournament competition that determines which 32 nations make the final World Cup event, this year hosted by Russia. Sadly, the USA’s men’s team did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup despite having a seemingly easy qualification schedule against a group of nations a smidgen of our size.

So, Jon, how does the inability of American men to compete globally on the soccer pitch translate to U.S. immigration policies?

Well, think about the World Cup as sort of an example of what harsh immigration limits might look like. Could an inwardly-focused nation be left short of potentially critical workplace skills readily available elsewhere? (I am not saying that soccer savvy is needed for a healthy American economy!)

Yes, I’m aware that President Donald Trump favors a” merit-based” immigration policy offering the world’s best and brightest a shot at American citizenship.

This presents a few challenges, for sure, such as what skills will we deem worthy of an immigration chance? Who decides what people win the right to enter? Will the wealthy be able to buy their way in, as they have in the past?

But limiting immigration to simply society’s “superstars” has other complications, too. Will we miss hidden gems or fledgling talent that simply needs nurturing to blossom?

Plus, as the World Cup competition proves – yes, another sports analogy – having superstars isn’t enough to win.

The world’s top players – Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina – could not carry their respective national teams to much World Cup success in 2018. That’s because great teams – and national economies, too – require depth.

To me, that’s where the merit-based only policies could fail the nation.

There is a noteworthy large – and still growing – need for folks who will do tedious and backbreaking work. History has proven time and time again that immigrants are willing to supply some of such manpower that might otherwise be missing.

Perhaps 2018’s shortage of qualified workers for many industries is a bit of an economic anomaly. But demographic patterns are clear: We are an aging nation on an aging planet. Overall, worker shortages will be more common in the coming decades as a mismatch of retirees to new workers emerges.

Now, unless you can convince our younger generations they should reverse the trend of having fewer children, American society must answer a tough riddle: How do we properly staff the workforce at all levels of skill?

Or, to use another thought from sports, how do we create and maintain an adequate “bench” for our employers?

I will suggest that a generous approach to immigration is an obvious tactic. (No, I’m not talking about mass amnesty or open borders!) With many nations grappling with this challenge today, countries choosing to dramatically shrink the inflow of foreigners could be handing their economic competitors an significant advantage.

Because if we don’t do immigration correctly, the U.S. economy may eventually face the fate of the American men’s soccer team: watching others compete for the world’s championship.

Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the semifinal match between Croatia and England at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Soccer fans filled Underground Pub and Grill
in Hermosa Beach on Wednesday, July 11, 2018 to watch the World Cup semifinals, England vs. Croatia. The game went into overtime and the room was tense ending in silence as Croatia won 2-1. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG)

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Russia’s Denis Cheryshev stands at the end of the quarterfinal match between Russia and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Fisht Stadium, in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric celebrates his side’s opening goal during the quarterfinal match between Russia and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Fisht Stadium, in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mario Mandzukic of Croatia celebrates after scoring his team’s winning goal during its World Cup semifinal victory over England on Wednesday at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

England’s Harry Kane celebrates at the end of the round of 16 match between Colombia and England at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Spartak Stadium, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. England won after a penalty shoot out. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Referee Damir Skomina from Slovenia, left, speaks with Sweden’s Gustav Svensson during the round of 16 match between Switzerland and Sweden at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the St. Petersburg Stadium, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Fans of Mexico watch the World Cup football match between Mexico and Brazil during a public event at Zocalo Square in Mexico City, on July 2, 2018. (Photo by JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Mexico’s midfielder Andres Guardado (L) and Brazil’s forward Neymar speak together during the Russia 2018 World Cup round of 16 football match between Brazil and Mexico at the Samara Arena in Samara on July 2, 2018. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP) / Getty Images)

Russian players mob Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, front left in blue, after Russia defeated Spain by winning a penalty shoot in the round of 16 match between Spain and Russia at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Denmark’s Yussuf Yurary Poulsen, center, reacts during the round of 16 match between Croatia and Denmark at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, in Nizhny Novgorod , Russia, Sunday, July 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ola Kamara and the Galaxy are hoping to feast on the host San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as they come back from their World Cup break. (Jae C. Hong/the Associated Press)

Uruguay’s man of the match Edinson Cavani celebrates after he scored the first of his two goals during the round of 16 match between Uruguay and Portugal at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, June 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A Mexico fan chants before the group F match between Mexico and South Korea at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Mexico soccer fans wait for the start of the group F match between Mexico and South Korea at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Sweden’s Emil Forsberg, top, and Ola Toivonen celebrate after defeating Mexico 3-0 at their group F match, at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Yekaterinburg Arena in Yekaterinburg , Russia, Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Kim Young-gwon celebrates scoring South Korea’s first goal during a 2-0 Group F victory to eliminate defending champion Germany from the 2018 World Cup on Tuesday in the Kazan Arena in Kazan, Russia. (Frank Augstein/The Associated Press)

Peruvian players applaud after winning 2-0 during their Group C victory over Australia on Tuesday at the 2018 World Cup in the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia. (Martin Meissner/The Associated Press)

Morocco’s Khalid Boutaib, left, celebrates scoring his side’s first goal with Morocco’s Younes Belhanda during the group B match between Spain and Morocco at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad, Russia, Monday, June 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Colombia’s Radamel Falcao celebrates after scoring the second side goal during the group H match between Poland and Colombia at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, Russia, Sunday, June 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Argentina goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero holds his head after Croatia’s Ante Rebic, background right, scored the opening goal during the group D match between Argentina and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Thursday, June 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Germany supporters wave flags on the stands before the group F match between Germany and Mexico at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, June 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Mexico’s Hirving Lozano, celebrates scoring his side’s opening goal during the group F match between Germany and Mexico at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, June 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo gestures to the fans at the end of the group B match between Portugal and Spain at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia, Friday, June 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Jonathan Lansner has been the Orange County Register's business columnist since 1997 and has been part of the newspaper's coverage of the local business scene since 1986. He is a native New Yorker who is a past national president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Jon lives in Trabuco Canyon -- yes, a homeowner -- and when he's not fiddling with his trusty spreadsheet at work you can likely find him rooting for his beloved Anaheim Ducks or umpiring local lacrosse games.